Author ArchivesLisa Guenther

In my last column, I wrote about how rapid change in how we communicate is changing society and encouraging fear. Fear easily morphs into anger and hatred and there’s no shortage of either on the internet. I’d love to write that the online ag community is free from such nastiness. But the ag community is […] Read more

The Cannabis Act is slated to take effect October 17th, legalizing recreational cannabis use in Canada. Those legislative changes will also remove many roadblocks to growing hemp and open up new market opportunities, say those in the industry. The new Act removes hemp from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, says Keith Jones, vice president […] Read more

If you drive through Nebraska in the summer, expect to see a lot of corn. It towers on both sides of grid roads and secondary highways, hiding deer just as well as forests do in northern Canada. Sometimes drought-tolerant crops such as sorghum fill corners and line borders, as a pollination buffer for seed corn. […] Read more

If you had a good arm, you might be able to stand outside the Ceres Northgate Terminal and wing a baseball from Saskatchewan into North Dakota. While the terminal and most of Ceres’ twin-loop track is in Canada, part of the track is south of the border. The facility’s border-straddling location, southeast of Estevan, is […] Read more

This harvest, farmers in southwestern Manitoba and southeastern Alberta are dealing with dry weather, while producers in northwestern Saskatchewan have excess moisture. This summer Grainews has been talking to three farmers from three provinces about how they manage their rotations. The idea is to see how producers manage longer rotations and what are the benefits and challenges. […] Read more

In late July, I flew to Nebraska to get an idea of what the ag industry looks like in that state. Before I even left my hotel in Omaha, I had my first clue. The Omaha World-Herald ran a front-page story on the $12 billion ag aid package with a rhyming headline. “Farmers: Thanks for […] Read more

Volunteers power many facilities and services in our communities. What motivates people to volunteer and how can non-profit boards engage their volunteer corps? I spoke to two women, from different rural communities in different provinces. Both have experience as board members and in the volunteer corps. Because I wanted them to speak openly without creating […] Read more

There seems to be no shortage of articles, presentations and research exhorting farmers to lengthen rotations. Longer rotations benefit everything from weed control to disease suppression in crops. But what are farmers doing to maintain or extend rotations? Grainews spoke to three farmers to find out how they’re managing their rotations. And while each farmer […] Read more

Agriculture has undergone big changes in the last century. Yesterday’s farmers would be amazed by the technology contained in a tractor and seeder these days, or by the vaccines that protect livestock from disease. Or even by the phones we tuck into our back pockets, and occasionally drop in the muck. It’s an interesting exercise […] Read more

Farming is a mix of tradition and innovation, and the machinery you’ll find on farms reflects that mix. That machinery is also a tangible record of how the machinery industry and farming practices have evolved over the decades. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s an exciting time to be farming,” says Ray Donald. “It’s exciting […] Read more